By IANS,
Jammu/Srinagar : Jammu and Kashmir Governor N.N. Vohra Wednesday issued notification for the second phase of elections to the state assembly scheduled for Nov 23.
According to the notification, the constituencies of Ganderbal and Kangan in Ganderbal district of the Kashmir Valley and Nowshera, Darhal, Rajouri and Kalakote in the mountainous border district of Rajouri in the Jammu region will go to polls in the second of the seven phases of elections.
The last date for filing nominations is Nov 5.
A total of 530 polling booths will be set up in the two districts for the second phase of polls.
Around 142 polling stations will be set up in Ganderbal district to facilitate voters on the polling day. While 63 polling stations will be set up in the Kangan constituency, 79 polling booths will be established in the Ganderbal constituency.
While Kangan has 59,879 voters, including 31,354 males and 28,525 females, Ganderbal has 77,616 registered voters, including 39,982 males and 37,634 females.
In the four assembly segments in the Jammu division, 388 polling booths are being set up to facilitate 353,457 voters, including 182,529 males and 170,928 females.
Rajouri leads with 124 polling booths, while 86 booths will be set up in Nowshera, 95 in Darhal and 83 in Kalakote.
Rajouri has the highest number of voters at 105,271, including 54,323 males and 50,948 females. Darhal follows with 88,186 voters including 45,488 males and 42,698 females.
Nowshera has 84,657 voters, including 43,406 males and 41,251 females, and Kalakote segment has 75,343 registered voters of whom 39,312 are males and 36,031 females.
The notification for the first phase of polls was issued Oct 24 for 10 assembly seats.
In the 2002 elections, the Nowshera assembly elected Ramesh Chander Sharma of the Congress.
The Rajouri seat was won by Mohammad Aslam of the National Conference and Kalakote had gone to Rachpal Singh of the same party. The Darhal constituency went to Independent candidate Puran Singh.
Ganderbal district has Kangan constituency with 59,879 voters. It went to Mian Altaf Ahmad of the NC.
The prestigious Ganderbal constituency was won by Qazi Mohammad Afzal of the
People’s Democratic Party (PDP) when he defeated National Conference president Omar Abdullah.
With two more days to go for filing of nominations for the first phase of polling, the main political parties, the Congress, PDP, National Conference and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have yet to field their candidates.
The parties are finding it hard not only to finalise the list of contestants but also to shape their manifestoes.
So far, only the PDP has issued its manifesto with the punch line “Make Self-Rule Happen”.